Forensic science international最新文献

{"title":"Biomass loss during decomposition – A new tool in improving PMI estimation?","authors":"Natalie Gasz,&nbsp;Michelle Harvey","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112389","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Determining the minimum post-mortem interval (_minPMI) is a useful tool in the investigation of recovered human remains. Though typically based on temperature of remains in the early stages, and insect activity later in the decomposition process, attempts at concealment of remains can hinder these processes. Concealment can affect not only the immediate temperature remains are exposed to but may also result in an inability for insect colonisation to occur. This in turn will hinder the ability to estimate an accurate _minPMI, and therefore timeline of events. As such, an understanding of the decomposition patterns where insect access is restricted through physical exclusion may assist in establishing a _minPMI. This study utilised still born piglets (n = 48) over a 14-day period in November 2019 – 2022, in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Piglets were either exposed, (controls), or had complete insect exclusion through a mechanical barrier which still allowed air flow and sampling to occur, with a total of 6 replicates of each condition per year. Piglets were observed daily, with temperature of remains, stage of decomposition, weight, and any insect activity present recorded. Physical barriers successfully excluded insects for the duration of the trial, however produced a greenhouse effect, producing a total of 4500 – 6000 accumulated degree hours (ADH) during the trial while controls only reached 3000–4500ADH in the same period. Bloat phase was severely prolonged in insect exclusion replicates, and subjects did not reach the dry phase by 2700ADH across all years, compared to control piglets which all had entered dry phase by this time. When comparing percentage biomass loss, consistency in overall biomass loss was noted in control piglets, as well as insect exclusion piglets in all trials. Control piglets showed a standard deviation of 5 % biomass loss at any given ADH. Exclusion of insects reduced overall biomass loss in comparison to ADH, however trends in the rate of loss could be established within the corresponding years. This study highlights that biomass loss can occur in the absence of insect exclusion through other decomposition processes, such as bacterial interactions, and may be a useful tool in the estimation of _minPMI.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112389"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Point-of-care β-hydroxybutyrate and glucose as candidate screening methods for ketoacidosis-associated death in forensic autopsy investigations","authors":"Victoria Higgins ,&nbsp;Matthew Nichols ,&nbsp;Helen Jo ,&nbsp;Rawan Alsafadi ,&nbsp;Amber Manocchio ,&nbsp;Paul M. Yip ,&nbsp;Jennifer M. Dmetrichuk","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112358","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Ketone bodies, like β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), derived from fatty acid breakdown, can cause fatal ketoacidosis if levels are excessively high. Postmortem diagnosis of ketoacidosis is challenging due to non-specificity of rapid chromogenic tests and the time required for LC-MS/MS analysis. This study investigates the feasibility of using point-of-care (POC) BHB and glucose testing to diagnose ketoacidosis-related deaths and distinguish between diabetic and other types of ketoacidosis, post-mortem.</div></div><div><h3>Design and methods</h3><div>This study evaluated the Nova StatStrip meter’s analytical and post-mortem performance for measuring BHB and glucose in decedent whole blood and vitreous humor. Precision, linearity, and recovery were assessed. BHB and glucose were measured in whole blood and vitreous humor from 100 autopsy cases (both ketoacidosis and non-ketoacidosis deaths). Results were compared quantitatively and qualitatively with standard laboratory methods to determine the meter's accuracy and reliability in predicting ketoacidosis-related deaths. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for each matrix/analyte combination to evaluate screening capabilities for ketoacidosis- and diabetic ketoacidosis-related deaths.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Imprecision was highest in decedent vitreous humor samples for both BHB and glucose and both assays exhibited acceptable linearity. ROC curve analysis indicated comparable post-mortem performance between methods and matrices. Whole blood BHB showed the best performance for predicting all-cause ketoacidosis on the meter, despite exhibiting a higher device error messages than vitreous humor. Glucose in vitreous humor exhibited the most optimal performance (100 % sensitivity and specificity) but showed the highest rate of error messages (64 %). Thus, whole blood glucose (80 % sensitivity, 98 % specificity) would be the preferred matrix to identify potential DKA-related deaths. Agreement between meter and laboratory methods was excellent despite differing thresholds (96–100 %).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study suggests that post-mortem BHB levels in whole blood and vitreous humor can be conveniently obtained using the StatStrip meter and have comparable performance to current standards, making it suitable as a screening tool for ketoacidosis-related death. Screening thresholds recommended are vitreous humor (≥ 0.9 mmol/L) or whole blood (≥ 1.6 mmol/L) BHB for ketoacidosis-related death, followed by whole blood glucose (≥ 27.3 mmol/L) for DKA-related death.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112358"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143097965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) in forensic science – A review","authors":"Elżbieta Maćkiewicz,&nbsp;Jacek Rogowski,&nbsp;Małgorzata Iwona Szynkowska-Jóźwik","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112347","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112347","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The paper presents the possibilities of using the ToF-SIMS technique in the examination of a range of samples as forensic evidence. These include the analysis of documents, the examination of writing media, the analysis of crossing lines, the analysis of cosmetics, hair analysis, the examination of automobile paints, and the analysis of fingerprints and their contamination with exogenous substances. The advantages and disadvantages of this method were analysed with reference to the information that any forensic investigator would wish to obtain when examining highly significant evidence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112347"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142871201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic feature extraction of document paper using periodic marks: PCA and t-SNE for manufacturer discrimination and document dating","authors":"Yong Ju Lee ,&nbsp;Chang Woo Jeong ,&nbsp;Hyoung Jin Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112348","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112348","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Paper differentiation can play a critical role in forensic document examination along with examinations of handwriting identification, impressed writing, and ink and printer toner analyses. If reference database to compare was constructed, paper analyses are also useful in terms of examining when document paper was produced. In this study, two datasets were utilized for principal component analysis (PCA) and t-SNE, and each dataset was constructed for the manufacturer discrimination and document paper dating tasks. A database for the angle and step data of periodic marks at top 10 intensity respectively was established by a two dimensional lab formation sensor. Model performance was evaluated using clustering indexes, i.e., the silhouette index, the normalized mutual information, the Calinski–Harabasz index, and the Davies–Bouldin index. Periodic marks analysis using an unsupervised machine learning model was performed to differentiate the manufacturers and investigate the production date in the case of forming fabric alteration. We found that forensic differentiation of paper is feasible using a combined PCA and t-SNE model on test document data and two datasets because the forming fabric of paper-making machines inevitably leaves periodic marks on the surface of the paper. Our findings demonstrate that these periodic marks can play a key role in forensic feature extraction. As a result, the combined PCA and t-SNE model has demonstrated high performance on the target tasks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112348"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142902655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AI-driven feature selection and epigenetic pattern analysis: A screening strategy of CpGs validated by pyrosequencing for body fluid identification","authors":"Ming Zhao ,&nbsp;Meiming Cai ,&nbsp;Fanzhang Lei ,&nbsp;Xi Yuan ,&nbsp;Qinglin Liu ,&nbsp;Yating Fang ,&nbsp;Bofeng Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112339","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112339","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Identification of body fluid stain at crime scene is one of the important tasks of forensic evidence analysis. Currently, body fluid-specific CpGs detected by DNA methylation microarray screening, have been widely studied for forensic body fluid identification. However, some CpGs have limited ability to distinguish certain body fluid types. The ongoing need is to discover novel methylation markers and fully validate them to enhance their evidentiary strength in complex forensic scenarios. This research gathered forensic-related DNA methylation microarrays data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A novel screening strategy for marker selection was developed, combining feature selection algorithms (elastic net, information gain ratio, feature importance based on Random Forest, and mutual information coefficient) with epigenetic pattern analysis, to identify CpG markers for body fluid identification. The selected CpGs were validated through pyrosequencing on peripheral blood, saliva, semen, vaginal secretions, and menstrual blood samples, and machine learning classification models were constructed based on the sequencing results. Pyrosequencing results revealed 14 CpGs with high specificity in five types of body fluid samples. A machine learning classification model, developed based on the pyrosequencing results, could effectively distinguish five types of body fluid samples, achieving 100 % accuracy on the test set. Utilizing six CpG markers, it was also feasible to attain ideal efficacy in identifying body fluid stains. Our research proposes a systematic and scientific strategy for screening body fluid-specific CpGs, contributing new insights and methods to forensic body fluid identification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112339"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142893219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A meta-analysis of lung weight in drowning deaths","authors":"Alexander Helal Stanikzai,&nbsp;Johannes Rødbro Busch,&nbsp;Jytte Banner,&nbsp;Carl Johan Wingren","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112376","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112376","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diagnosing drowning as a cause of death remains complex in forensic pathology, demanding integration of autopsy findings, contextual evidence, and case-specific variables. This study systematically reviews literature on lung weights in adult drowning cases, analyzing data from 20 studies to evaluate lung weight as an evidentiary factor in the diagnosis of drowning deaths. Additionally, this study seeks to examine the impact of covariates such as water salinity (freshwater vs. saltwater) and sex differences on lung weight in drownings deaths. Our meta-analysis examines the weighted average mean and median lung weights, comparing 3010 drowning cases with 1494 controls. We observed significantly higher lung weights in drowning cases compared to controls, with an observed mean difference of 243 g (95 % CI: 217 – 263 g, p &lt; 0.001). Differences in lung weight across cases indicate that factors such as water salinity and sex are associated with the weight of the lungs. However, guidelines for how to interpret lung weight in the medico-legal assessment of cause of death in a specific case is still elusive, since the variation in lung weight is relatively large. Recommendations for future research is to include a standardized reporting of lung weight in categories of age, body size and sex, and to include appropriate control groups to improve the accuracy of drowning diagnosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112376"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Methylation-based forensic age estimation in blood, buccal cells, saliva and semen: A comparison of two technologies","authors":"Charlotte Sutter,&nbsp;Yael Marti,&nbsp;Cordula Haas,&nbsp;Jacqueline Neubauer","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic age estimation of stain donors through DNA methylation has been intensively studied in recent years. To date, there are many published age estimation tools which are based on technologies including pyrosequencing, minisequencing, or MPS. With the implementation of such tools into routine forensic casework in many laboratories worldwide, there is a need for thorough evaluation and performance comparison. In this study, we tested published age estimation tools that are based on either minisequencing or MPS on four body fluids (blood, saliva, buccal cells and semen). All samples were analyzed with both technologies and the age estimates were compared. Biological replicates were taken from ten (blood, saliva, buccal cells) or 12 individuals (semen) to assess the reproducibility of each tool. Our study demonstrates high accuracy in estimating chronological age for various body fluids using both technologies, except for semen. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) ranged from three to five years for blood, saliva and buccal cells, while semen exhibited a higher MAE of seven to eight years. Despite the overall good performance for blood, saliva, and buccal cells, significant discrepancies were observed for some individuals both between the two technologies or when compared to their chronological age. Conclusively, we demonstrated that forensic age estimation tools based on two different technologies are similarly accurate for blood, saliva and buccal cells, while the semen tools need some adjustments before implementation into forensic casework. Our results could be helpful in the decision-making process for laboratories seeking to newly establish an age estimation workflow.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112325"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142817586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Technical note: Evaluation of a transportable linear ion trap mass spectrometer for seized drug screening operated under controlled laboratory conditions","authors":"Alleigh N. Couch,&nbsp;Christina Chang,&nbsp;J. Tyler Davidson","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112381","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112381","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing seized drug casework submissions and challenges with rapidly triaging seized drug evidence have led to interest in the potential use of instruments for on-site or mobile laboratory drug screening. However, before this type of instrumentation can be implemented, it is imperative to evaluate the capabilities and limitations under controlled laboratory conditions. This study evaluates the BaySpec Continuity™ transportable linear ion trap (LIT) mass spectrometer coupled to a thermal desorption-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (TD-APCI) source for seized drug screening while operated under controlled laboratory conditions. The target compounds chosen for this study were selected based on controlled substances and cutting agents commonly observed in seized drug casework, including cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, caffeine, acetaminophen, pseudoephedrine, phenacetin, phentermine, and levamisole. A library-based alarm system screening method was developed and validated for rapid compound identification in seized drug mixtures. Selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility were evaluated using five simulated seized drug mixtures with known compositions, and the limit of detection was evaluated for each compound. Blind and authentic destroyed casework samples were analyzed to determine the efficacy of this method when applied to real-world samples and a 100% correct identification rate of the controlled substance present was achieved. Additionally, the ability to differentiate isobaric species using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis was demonstrated for methamphetamine and phentermine. The validated library-based alarm screening method shows promise for rapid seized drug screening under controlled laboratory conditions, which supports potential usage in a mobile laboratory setting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112381"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Benchmarking of proficiency tests for the fingerprint field","authors":"Andy Bécue ,&nbsp;Alexandre Anthonioz ,&nbsp;Guy Harris ,&nbsp;Roger Heredia ,&nbsp;Aldo Mattei ,&nbsp;Christophe Rion ,&nbsp;Alina Saggau","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112384","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112384","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Since 2015, European fingerprint service providers carrying out laboratory activities must be EN ISO/IEC 17025 accredited. Consequently, relevant and reliable proficiency tests are required by those accredited forensic laboratories to regularly assess and certify their analytical capabilities. In this context, Work package #10 of the ENFSI-EU funded project named \"Competency, Education, Research, Testing, Accreditation, and Innovation in Forensic Science\" (Grant #101051099) aimed at proposing guidance to forensic laboratories for the selection of proficiency tests in the fields of fingermark visualization, imaging, and comparison/identification. In this paper, the methodology that has been set and followed is described, and the resulting guidance document presented. Additionally, a critical overview of the current market of commercial proficiency tests dedicated to the fingerprint field is proposed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112384"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143079068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Body farm time machine”: Results from taphonomic study of burial and underwater contexts","authors":"A. Macho-Callejo ,&nbsp;L. Huidobro-Pasero ,&nbsp;E. Honrubia-Clemente ,&nbsp;J. Santos-González ,&nbsp;Y. Fernández-Jalvo ,&nbsp;A. Gutiérrez","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112313","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112313","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Experimental taphonomy and neotaphonomic monitoring have become two relevant tools in interpreting modifications, and most especially in forensic investigations. Research facilities, where human decomposition experiments are carried out under controlled situations, provide a better understanding of the tapho–forensic history of cadaveric remains under specific environments and in different situations or even climates. There are, however, limitations of time to monitoring, such as space for experimentation and ethics, that do not always allow to carry out these types of investigations. The study presented here investigates the early p<em>ost mortem</em> modifications of the cadaveric state using animal models (pig autopods) simulating different forensic scenarios in accelerated time, under controlled climatic parameters, in different environmental contexts. This study was carried out under semi-arid conditions programmed in a climatic chamber. The aim of this study is to open a new range of knowledge in experimental taphonomy. As results of this experiment, different types of cadaveric states (such as total skeletonization, skeletonization with dry putrid matter, saponification and mummification) were obtained related to the type of contexts in which animal models were deposited (submerged or buried in wet or dry sediment).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 112313"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142767721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}